By providing a full postcode (such as W1A 1AA), national grid reference (for example SE123456) or latitude, longitude pair (like 54, -0.5) this page will provide a map, terrain plot and detailed information of the location showing the UK and RoI television transmitters that it is possible you receive Freeview, Freeview HD, Youview, BT TV and Saorview from.
(Don't know your postcode? Find it at Post Office Postcode finder).
UK Free TV uniquely shows you transmitter coverage maps, aerial to transmitter terrain plots, the closest 10 mobile phone masts (for possible 5G-at-800 interference) as well as tabulated information (sorted by direction, by received signal strength, by frequency, by service names or by transmitter name).
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See sample prediction pages
Click on these links to see how this page looks with these sample postcodes: NE35HP, CH495LF, M342WT, SO153NQ, SA108PW, LL181HS, NN28TA, N113FP, B976JX, GL510HE.
Please note
These predictions are based upon a rooftop aerial and depend on the suitability of the aerial, the distance to the transmitters, the power of their signals, the postcode area, and local terrain.Tuesday, 4 August 2020
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Steve H.7:16 PM
Yarm
I've returned Ariel is on the roof., reset and updated software but to no avail. Cannot get com7 channels BBC News HD, BBC4 HD.
Postcode is TS15 9RU & signal is saying its strong. I take it its out of my control and my location thsts the issue?
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Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Chris.SE11:42 PM
Steve H.:
Your location is fine, you even have a choice of two Tyne Tees main transmitters!
I would expect your aerial to be pointing at the Bilsdale transmitter fractionally S of SE (bearing 144 degrees) and getting a Local multiplex on UHF C30 with the Middlesbrough local station at LCN7 in your EPG.
If however it's pointing fractionally N of NW (bearing 324 degrees) at the Pontop Pike transmitter, you'd get the Newcastle local station, multiplex on C33. Also Pontop Pike was on Planned Engineering last week with "Possible weak signal".
It's possible your set's memory needs clearing, I'd suggest you do a retune as follows -
Unplug the aerial and do an automatic retune which should clear all previously stored channels as nothing should be found. Switch the set off for at least 10 minutes.
Plug the aerial back in, switch on and don't let it do an auto-retune if you have a manual tune option.
If you're getting Bilsdale, the UHF channels are C27, C24, C21, C43, C46, C40, C55, C30
If it's Pontop Pike, the UHF channels are C39, C42, C45, C32, C34, C35, C55, C33
both in the order PSBs 1-3, COMs 4-7, Local.
For which programmes/channels are on which multiplex, see Channel listings | Freeview
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Sunday, 27 September 2020
C
Craig4:16 PM
Bolton
BL1 6ET, no signal for 2 days on any channel. Can't retune as it finds nothing available.
Had aerial engineer out but can't find any problem.
What next?
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Craig's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Chris.SE9:46 PM
Craig:
Well the signals from Winter Hill should be blowing your windows out! I assume from what you say, the aerial engineer has said the signal arrives at your coax plug at the back of the TV?
If not, and he's only checked to an aerial socket wall plate, then you need to check/try another flylead between the wall-plate and direct to the TV - not via any other equipment.
If you have other equipment eg. a PVR/DVR is that playing back to your TV? Is it recording and can then playback to your TV? If both of those are true then it suggests your TV's tuner may be locked up or faulty. Have a look through the menus and find a "Reset" (usually to factory settings) the see if you can set it all up again and tune the channels.
If you still have issues after that, post back with details about the various checks and any other equipment.
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Tuesday, 6 October 2020
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Steven E6:51 PM
London
The flat I've moved into doesn't have a coaxial wall box, it looks like the previous tenant had it removed to wire a Virgin media cable in its place. I'm thinking of trying an indoor aerial but the window nearest the TV (south facing, 1st floor) overlooks a courtyard surrounded by a tall brick building (to the extent that I have to really crane my neck to see the sky and get no direct sunlight!). Is it even worth trying an indoor solution?
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Steven's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Chris.SE10:27 PM
Steven E:
That will depend on location and strength of the signal. We need a full postcode to look at the predicted reception to get some feel for this.
Other than that, does this block of flats have a communal aerial system? If so, perhaps the aerial cable is disconnected and there behind the virgin media outlet, I assume there is some sort of outlet the way you've worded you remark?
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Saturday, 31 October 2020
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Tracey4:34 PM
Firstly - apologies for the double post - I was in the Mendip region when I added all this, rather than my area, if someone could delete it from there (I couldn't see a way to remove the original). Now, sorry if this is one of those impossible to answer questions, but here goes. We've recently moved into a different house, in Glossop, SK13 8ED, and are having very occasional reception problems. In decent weather everything is good but with really heavy rain we get blocking and, more rarely, break-up. I remember the previous owners mentioning that the aerial and all cabling were replaced not long before it went up for sale, so it's less than a year old. The aerial would seem to be pointing to Winter Hill (it's definitely not pointing to the local repeater, we get far too many channels) and from ground level looks solidly mounted. We've tried your re-tuning suggestions and checked the cable joins to the best of our abilities. No difference. A more technical friend suggested that the cable used for the install isn't the best and we could change the internal run for a higher quality one. From where it enters the house to the tv is around a 15m run and the cable is marked up as ''RG6/U 19.5dB/100m @860 Mhz''. Do you think there would be any value in changing this section? We could do without the expense of getting someone out to check/swap bits at the moment especially as the problem only rarely occurs. Thanks for any help. Tracey.
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Tracey's: mapT's Freeview map terrainT's terrain plot wavesT's frequency data T's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Sunday, 1 November 2020
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Chris.SE2:52 AM
Tracey:
Don't worry about the double posting, it's not possible to delete it anyway. If for some reason you don't find this post, I'll copy it to the Mendip page.
This could be one of those tricky to answer posts without more information, whilst it isn't the "best" of cables it may be perfectly adequate and no-one would want to advise the unnecessary expensive replacement of cable.
Also, how much benefit there would be replacing this particular length might depend on what length there is from the aerial to where it enters the house. Additionally there would be some loss from the "joint" which might cancel out the gain from a different cable. Also the actual loss in this 15m run isn't that great, so if your signal is that marginal, there could be other things that need attention.
I note you've given a postcode in your post, but the one you entered into the prediction checker is slightly different , it ends 8EH. Since Freeview made changes to their site, the prediction links here don't work, but no matter. I've looked at both postcodes in the Freeview Detailed Coverage Checker and there's only a marginal differences for Winter Hill (mainly the PSB2/D3&4 and PSB3/BBCB HD multiplexes). You shouldn't have any problems with reception in normal circumstances (assuming your aerial is adequate and been installed correctly). Now, to a few specifics.
Whilst you should get perfectly good reception from Winter Hill, the Coverage checker shows that you could also get signals from two relay transmitters as well as Emley Moor in addition. That said, it does require clear line-of-sight. One other quick guide to how good the signals are, the checker says you should get the Local Manchester multiplex with the Local station at LCN 7 and programmes such as the Sony Channel at LCN48, Sony Movies Christmas at LCN50 etc. Are you getting these?
For which channels are on which multiplex, see Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
That information might also help identify if your problems are related to specific multiplexes by which channels you have problems with.
Because your problem relates to really heavy rain, my immediate reaction is 5 possibilities. Water getting into the aerial & coax connections, maybe the aerial has moved direction in high winds, marginal reception as maybe the installation isn't quite adequate, or trees fairly nearby on the line-of-sight and when in leaf and very wet will disrupt the signal, or lastly, not tuned to all the correct channels.
We'll discount the first for a moment as you've said it's a newish installation less than a year old (there could be some warranty coverage if you have any receipts).
The last is easy to check, the 3rd and 4th will have a similar effect on signal strength.
Although (if) the aerial is correctly pointing at Winter Hill, it's still possible to pick up signals from other transmitters under certain circumstances.
For Winter Hill it should be pointing at a bearing of 299 degrees (that's 29 degrees N of due W, in other words slightly N of WNW) and the rods should be horizontal. The rods would be vertical for the relay transmitters and one happens to be in virtually in the same direction as Winter Hill, the Glossop one is virtually due N.
Check that there aren't trees in the direct line-of-sight (if the aerial is higher than any trees they shouldn't matter).
To start checking what sort of signals you have and the UHF channels you are tuned to for the multiplexes, you need to enter the TV's tuning menus. Look for Signal Strength or Manual tune or similar (not automatic tune).
For Winter Hill the UHF channels are C32, C34, C35, C29, C31, C37, C55, C24 (that's in the multiplex order BBCA/PSB1, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6, COM7, Local - L-MAN).
Also look for what the tuning section is giving for Signal Strength and Quality, make a note of them for each.
If you find any of those are tuned to a different UHF channel that could explain the problems.
The aerial can sometimes pick up signals from another transmitter on what's called a side-lobe. It might have done so because the local transmitter signal is very strong at your location, or when you last retuned Winter Hill signals were low or off-air due to maintenance (or even interference) so it picked up the next strongest.
If you find it tuned to the incorrect channels, this is probably best resolved by manual tuning. But first, unplug the aerial and do an automatic tune which should clear all previous tuning as nothing will be found. Then plug the aerial back in and do a manual tune for each of those UHF channels.
If you found all is correctly tuned, post back with those Signal Strengths and Quality figures for each multiplex.
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T
Tracey5:56 PM
Chris.SE:
Hi Chris, thank you so much for such a comprehensive and clear answer. Your point about the cable makes good sense. As you point out (and typically as I've carried out these tests) we don't normally have any problems - todays light rain hasn't brought any on! The aerial is pointing in the direction you suggested as far as I can tell from ground level using an Android compass (and matches various neighbours directions) with the rods being vertical. One thing I have noticed is that ours seems to have less of those rods than surrounding aerials. There's eight of them with another plate just behind. Then the 2 other panels which stick up at the rear each have 4 elements. Not sure if this is relevant but as I say, the others on our road seem to be longer with more rods. We're high up on a hill and the aerial is chimney mounted so trees and leaves wouldn't seem to be a problem. The signal strengths are as follows;
BBCA/PSB1, Strength 92% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
PSB2/D3&4, Strength 90% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
PSB3/BBCB HD, Strength 90% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
SDN/COM4, Strength 92% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
ArqA/COM5, Strength 92% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
ArqB/COM6, Strength 86% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
COM7, Strength 66% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
Local - L-MAN Strength 90% Quality 100% Bit Error Level 0 BER
The displayed frequencies all tied in with those displayed on your Winter Hill page except for the Local one (That's Manchester) which appeared as 498Mhz rather than the advertised 754Mhz (searching on 754 found nothing) and PSB3 displayed as 586Mhz rather than 585.8Mhz (maybe my Samsung rounds up?). I'm guessing here, and ready to be shot down, but Is this looking like the aerial itself isn't quite up to the job when really tested? Anyway - I'll stop rambling and hope these numbers indicate something to you (and I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed figuring out how to gather them!). Thanks again for the help.
Tracey
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Tracey's: mapT's Freeview map terrainT's terrain plot wavesT's frequency data T's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 3 November 2020
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Tracey3:25 PM
Chris.SE:
Again, not sure if it makes any difference but I've also noticed that apart from the neighbours having more of the horizontal elements, each of their rods have a squashed 'x' profile, as if made from 2 pieces of metal at a slight angle to each other, whilst ours are a straight single rod?
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Tracey's: mapT's Freeview map terrainT's terrain plot wavesT's frequency data T's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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